Highlights:
- Trump says a deal with Iran is in its final stages.
- Iran says "nothing has been finalised".
- Recent military strikes have increased tensions.
- Oil prices fell after Trump's comments.
- Several countries and the UN have called for de-escalation.
President Donald Trump has once again said that the United States is close to reaching an agreement with Iran to end the current conflict. He suggested that the deal could be signed very soon. However, Iran has pushed back against those claims and said that a final decision has not yet been made.
Earlier on Thursday (11), Trump said the United States would strike Iran "very hard" again. Later, he said he was canceling those plans because negotiators had "just made a great settlement" with Iran.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said the agreement was "subject to finalisation of documents, which should get done, over the next few days". He also said there would "probably" be a signing ceremony in Europe.
According to Trump, the agreement is nearly complete.
He said: "We have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get this. So, it's a very big thing."
Trump added that there would "probably be a signing, maybe in Europe" once the documents are finalized. He said the process should be completed "pretty quickly".
"The documents are in 'pretty final shape - so we'll see'," he said.
Trump also said the Strait of Hormuz would open "as soon as we have it signed".
He told reporters that he had spoken with leaders across the region, including Gulf allies and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The whole Middle East is very happy," Trump said.
Despite those comments, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said reports about a completed agreement were premature.
He described the reports as "speculative" and said "nothing has been finalised".
Baghaei explained that most of the memorandum text had already been "finalized". However, he said the United States had made "excessive demands" and introduced "new requests" during the talks.
He also said Iran would not "depart from its red lines".
This is not the first time Trump has suggested that a deal with Iran was close. Previous statements from the president about progress in negotiations did not lead to a final agreement.
The latest conflict began when the United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran on February 28. Iran responded with attacks on Israel and US-allied countries in the Gulf. Iran also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Although both sides agreed to a ceasefire in April, military exchanges have continued. The United States and Iran have carried out intermittent strikes since then, including two rounds of tit-for-tat attacks this week.
The possibility of a deal affected global oil markets. After Trump's latest comments, the price of Brent crude oil dropped by about 4.4% to around $89 per barrel.
Israel also commented on the discussions.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that he had spoken with Trump. However, it stressed that Israel "is not a party to the memorandum of understanding".
According to the statement, Netanyahu welcomed Trump's efforts to reach a final agreement. The statement said the agreement should include "the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran's support for its terrorist proxies in the region".
The White House has been pushing for a quick solution. The administration wants to end the conflict and address concerns related to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program.
On April 20, Trump said an agreement would be reached "relatively quickly". In the following weeks, he and senior officials repeatedly suggested that negotiations were moving forward.
However, on May 27, after reports that both sides were close to an agreement, Trump said he was "not satisfied" with the proposed terms. Negotiations have continued since then.
Just hours before his latest comments about a possible deal, Trump had taken a much tougher position.
He said "the United States will be hitting Iran... very hard tonight" and threatened to target Kharg Island and other major oil infrastructure sites "in the not too distant future".
Kharg Island is located in the northern Gulf and serves as Iran's main oil export terminal. About 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports pass through the island.
Trump also wrote that the United States would "assume total control" over oil and gas markets "much like we have with Venezuela".
Iran's military warned that any new attacks would lead to a stronger response.
A military statement said: "Considering recent US threats against Iran's oil infrastructure, either oil and gas exports are for everyone or they will be available for no-one."
Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also criticized possible military action. He said that "wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will... create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years".
The latest military exchanges followed the crash of a US Apache helicopter in the Gulf on Monday.
On Wednesday, US Central Command said it had carried out strikes against military, surveillance, and radar sites in southern Iran.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded by launching attacks against American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.
Authorities in Bahrain said an 11-year-old girl was injured in an Iranian drone attack. Homes and vehicles were also damaged.
Jordan reported that it had intercepted about 20 Iranian missiles. Kuwait's military said it had engaged "hostile aerial targets".
Meanwhile, India summoned a senior American diplomat after three Indian sailors were killed in a US strike on a ship in the Gulf of Oman. India accused the United States of violating its blockade on Iranian ports. Twenty-one crew members were rescued.
US forces have targeted nine vessels so far, including three this week. The blockade is intended to limit Iran's ability to earn money from oil exports.
The continued violence has prompted international calls for restraint.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "deeply concerned by the continuing escalation in the Middle East".
"He urges the parties to return to the full implementation of the ceasefire and avoid any further deterioration."
Pakistan, Russia, China, Turkey, India, and Saudi
